Best rifle for 458 WM?

[Markis]

It kicks but you can down load it with cast bullets and its pretty dern accurate. Or it is in my Ruger 77 in 458 WM.

 

[colorado]

Interarms/Whitworth rifles have M98-type CRF actions, classic lines, express sights, and run from $750-$1500 on the used market. Not sure how the chamber is cut as far as throat length…

This is mine in .458

View attachment 640314


Ed Z

Beautiful rifle!

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Please read this article by Finn Aagaard.

In short, yes. Different .458 Winchester Magnum rifles have different throat lengths which make it more or less difficult to achieve a higher velocity. Longer throats make it difficult to achieve higher velocities. Shorter throats make it easier.

The Winchester Model 70 has a long throat which makes it difficult to achieve above 2090 FPS with most .458 Winchester Magnum ammunition. The 22" barrels of the post '64 Model 70 rifles only made matters worse.

The best rifles ever made for the .458 Winchester Magnum, were:
A) The Mannlicher Schoenauer (only 77 made in this caliber)
B) The BSA Majestic (only 257 made in this caliber)

They had very short throats and permitted velocities above 2100 FPS to be easily achieved. In the case of the BSA Majestic, this was impressively accomplished with barrels that were only 20" long (minus those beastly muzzle brakes).

Now, the advantage of the long throat in the Winchester Model 70... is that this makes it better for conversions to .458 Lott.

 

[Zinz]

Beautiful rifle!

Many thanks. It’s really kinda plain, but I like the lines.

I have a Whitworth in .375 with a fairly nice piece of lumber

 

[Flipper Dude]

 

[CZDiesel]

Please read this article by Finn Aagaard.
View attachment 641248
In short, yes. Different .458 Winchester Magnum rifles have different throat lengths which make it more or less difficult to achieve a higher velocity. Longer throats make it difficult to achieve higher velocities. Shorter throats make it easier.

The Winchester Model 70 has a long throat which makes it difficult to achieve above 2090 FPS with most .458 Winchester Magnum ammunition. The 22" barrels of the post '64 Model 70 rifles only made matters worse.

The best rifles ever made for the .458 Winchester Magnum, were:
A) The Mannlicher Schoenauer (only 77 made in this caliber)
B) The BSA Majestic (only 257 made in this caliber)

They had very short throats and permitted velocities above 2100 FPS to be easily achieved. In the case of the BSA Majestic, this was impressively accomplished with barrels that were only 20" long (minus those beastly muzzle brakes).

Now, the advantage of the long throat in the Winchester Model 70... is that this makes it better for conversions to .458 Lott.

My Custom Shop M-70 has a 22” bbl and has no problem hitting 2100ftps? DGS does 2170 on average!
No need for a Lott unless you are a PH and I’d put my Winchester against any BSA or Mannlicher in fit, finish, and function any day! I’d actually bet on it against them!
And yes I’ve both seen and held those two and they are fine rifles! They just are not a Winchester Custom Shop rifle!

 

[ldmay375]

The Winchester Custom Shop produced some fine looking rifles.

Regarding the 458 Winchester and Finn, he also wrote in The A-Square Handloading And Rifle Manual.
Part of his commentary on the 458 Winchester:


"On the other hand, for over 10 years I used a .458 for elephant hunting, for backing up clients, and for following sick, dangerous game into the pucker brush, without suffering any failures attributable to the cartridge. For me it always did what one would expect of a 500-grain .45-caliber bullet starting out at 2000 fps - it tended to put big, bloody holes all or most of the way through any animal. That is with the solids. The first soft-noses were a bit fragile. They were great for lion, but expanded too quickly to always give the requisite penetration on buffalo. Otherwise the round served me very well. I liked the fact that its recoil was moderate enough to be quite controllable, even in a light, portable, fast-handling rifle like my 9-pound Westley Richards or my Winchester M-70 with aperture sights. (Almost everyone who has tried my .458 has remarked, "Hey, that was nowhere near as bad as I expected!") I also like the fact that ammunition was always available, as every professional hunter had a locker-full of the stuff that his clients had left with him."

 

[BeeMaa]

If you plan on being a traveling hunter, it would be wise to consider a Blaser R8 in 458WM or 458 LOTT. With the LOTT giving you the option of shooting either cartridge.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Interarms/Whitworth rifles have M98-type CRF actions, classic lines, express sights, and run from $750-$1500 on the used market. Not sure how the chamber is cut as far as throat length…

This is mine in .458

View attachment 640314


Ed Z

I have one too. Don't intend to sell it, ever.